Caucus Meeting: An excellent opportunity to talk to your MP

Posted by Linda Delory on February 20, 2014

The entire Labor caucus has been ordered to an unprecedented weekend brainstorming session this Sunday 5th Feb. It is being touted as an opportunity for all 102 MPs to workshop policy ideas and strategies and in particular raise any concerns they have in their electorates with the PM and the cabinet directly. So – THIS WEEK is the best opportunity we have to get our message to each of our local federal members, so that on Sunday the government hears loud and clear from across the country that Australia wants a strong Basin Plan that restores the health of the river for future generations. Ringing or visiting your MP is easy and powerful – you can find talking points and background info here as well as search for your MPs details.

Emerald leads the way!

Emerald for Sustainability (Emfsus) have shown us just how easy this is. Emfsus is a small committed environment group in the Dandenong hills of Melbourne. We presented at one of their community meetings on the Basin Plan and they were so concerned they each signed a letter and a delegation personally delivered them to their local MP, Laura Smyth. Laura has indicated she will raise the issue directly with Water Minister Tony Burke – an awesome outcome! And it was so easy – one phone call and one conversation and now Burke knows there are people in Emerald who are watching what he does! They also wrote letters to their local paper and got the story on their local radio. We love their work!!

“We are proud to be a part of this campaign, and to be able to openly converse with our Federal MP on such an important matter. It is unlikely we would be able to achieve what we have so far, without working with Friends of the Earth."

Friends of the Earth acknowledge that we meet and work on the land of the Wurundjeri people and that sovereignty of the land of the Kulin Nation were never ceded. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge the pivotal role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within the Australian community.